1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a timepiece.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, there has been used a timepiece having a sound generating mechanism such as an alarm or a minute repeater. In a timepiece of this type, it is required that loud sound should be issued in order to allow the user to reliably recognize the sound. On the other hand, in some cases, a waterproof performance is required of a timepiece.
The timepiece disclosed in JP-T-2014-513309 (Patent Document 1) is equipped with a case including a sealed portion and a non-sealed portion, an hour striking mechanism arranged in the sealed portion, and a bell operated by the hour striking mechanism. The entire bell is provided inside the non-sealed portion of the case.
The timepiece disclosed in JP-A-2008-76380 (Patent Document 2) is equipped with an exterior case, a sound source arranged inside the exterior case, and an inner filter that is breathable and waterproof.
In the construction disclosed in Patent Document 1, however, the bell, which is the sound generation source, is situated in the non-sealed portion, and the mechanism generating sound is within the sealed portion. Thus, in order to ring the bell, it is necessary to provide a mechanism operating astride the sealed portion and the non-sealed portion, sometimes resulting in a problem in terms of waterproof performance at the border between the sealed portion and the non-sealed portion.
The construction disclosed in Patent Document 2 has the inner filter, so that the sound emitted from the sound source is not easily transmitted to the exterior of the case.